Repair of acute dissection of the ascending aorta, associated with coarctation of the thoracic aorta in a Jehovah's Witness.

A twenty-year-old white man, with acute dissection of the ascending aorta, underwent emergency resection with dacron graft replacement, utlizing cardiopulmonary bypass. Subsequent repair of coarctation of the thoracic aorta was performed. No blood was administered due to the patient's religious preference. The problems of emergency surgery in Jehovah's Witness patients are discussed.